DUNE PhD Positions at the University of Innsbruck

In the framework of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Special Research Area (SFB) “Dark UNiverse Explorations – DUNE” we invite applications for four PhD positions located at the Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics of Innsbruck University as detailed below.

Positions

PhD position A: Weak gravitational lensing and intrinsic galaxy alignments

Sub-project lead and contact: Dr. Laila Linke (laila.linke@uibk.ac.at)

The Innsbruck DUNE team is strongly involved in ESA’s Euclid Mission. In particular, the Innsbruck Extragalactic Astrophysics group (which includes SFB leads Grandis, Linke, and Schrabback) plays a leading role in Euclid weak lensing efforts, so far focusing primarily on Euclid image simulations and shear calibration, cosmic shear and galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements, and lensing-calibrated cluster cosmology. 

Intrinsic alignments (IA) represent the dominant astrophysical systematic in cosmic shear analyses and arise partly from correlations between galaxy shapes and the ellipticities of their host haloes. The choice of IA model can significantly impact the cosmological constraints obtained from a cosmic shear analysis. This project aims to develop a physically motivated model for IA that also accounts for the three-dimensional shapes of dark matter haloes.

In close collaboration with the DUNE researchers at the Uni Vienna node and relevant groups within the Euclid Consortium, the newly hired PhD candidate will use state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations (in particular the COLIBRE suite) to calibrate a flexible IA halo model. The model will be validated and refined using observational constraints from Euclid data and then integrated into the Euclid weak lensing analysis pipeline. This work will improve cosmological parameter inference by mitigating one of the most significant systematic effects in weak lensing surveys.

When applying for this position, applicants should in particular highlight relevant prior experience with respect to weak gravitational lensing, cosmic shear analyses, hydrodynamical simulations, and scientific computing (particularly using Python).

PhD position B: Cosmological inference from galaxy cluster counts and weak gravitational lensing

Sub-project lead and contact: Dr. Sebastian Grandis (sebastian.grandis@uibk.ac.at)

The Innsbruck DUNE team is strongly involved in ESA’s Euclid Mission. In particular, the Innsbruck Extragalactic Astrophysics group (which includes SFB leads Grandis, Linke, and Schrabback) plays leading roles within the Euclid weak lensing efforts, so far especially focussing on Euclid image simulations and shear calibration, cosmic shear and galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements, as well as lensing-calibrated cluster cosmology. 

In recent work, the group has demonstrated that weak gravitational lensing (WL) by galaxy clusters from wide photometric surveys is essential for determining the mass scale of cluster samples and for deriving cosmological constraints from their number counts. Given that the WL signal-to-noise ratio of individual WL measurements is low, WL-calibrated cluster number counts use Bayesian Population models to jointly fit the WL signal and the observed number density, thereby extracting constraints on cosmological parameters while marginalizing over astrophysical uncertainties. While this pipeline is suited for analyzing ~1k clusters, the new samples derived from observations of the 3rd generation camera on the South Pole Telescope, together with Euclid WL, will yield ~10k clusters, and therefore require an improved analysis framework.

In close collaboration with the DUNE team at Uni Wien and the relevant groups within the South Pole Telescope Clusters and the Euclid Consortium, the newly hired PhD candidate will explore the benefits of differentiable coding for cosmological inference from galaxy clusters. After refactoring the existing fully Python-implemented likelihood in the JAX-based DISCO-DJ context, we aim to accelerate sampling with gradient-enhanced methods (e.g., Hamiltonian Monte Carlo) and to leverage gradients to compress synthetic data for simulation-based inference. These enhancements to the existing pipeline will be applied to existing SPT clusters and their Euclid WL signatures to showcase their benefits on real data.

When applying for this position, applicants should in particular highlight relevant prior experience regarding differentiable coding, Bayesian inference, high-dimensional sampling, simulation-based inference, and the determination of cosmological parameters.

PhD positions C and D: Dwarf galaxy formation & evolution

Sub-project lead and contact: Univ.-Prof. Francine Marleau (francine.marleau@uibk.ac.at)

The Innsbruck DUNE team is strongly involved in ESA’s Euclid Mission. In particular, the Innsbruck Galaxy Formation and Evolution Group (which includes SFB lead Francine Marleau) plays a leading role in the study of the Local Universe. The members of this group are also part of the Euclid Local Universe Science Working Group (SWG-LU) which focuses on using Euclid’s observations to advance our understanding of nearby galaxies and galaxy systems. Euclid's sensitivity, spatial resolution, and high image quality make it an ideal facility to probe galaxy properties in detail. The SWG-LU research topics include dwarf and low surface brightness galaxies, galaxy groups and clusters, extragalactic star clusters, and low surface brightness features such as tidal tails and stellar streams. It investigates how these structures provide insights into key questions in galaxy formation, dark matter, and cosmology. As a member of this group, the PhD students will contribute to high-impact projects that relate to local galaxy studies and connect to the mission’s broader cosmological objectives.

In recent work using the Euclid Early Release Observations (EROs) and Quick Data Release (Q1), the group has demonstrated Euclid’s capability to enable detailed studies of dwarf galaxy systems, including their morphology, structure, star cluster (NSCs, GCs) populations, and spatial distribution. As Euclid’s imaging survey progressively expands its sky coverage, the full scientific impact on dwarf – including ultra-diffuse – galaxy studies will emerge through successive data releases that sample an increasingly diverse range of environments, thereby probing the small-scale regime of structure formation and dark matter models. The newly hired PhD candidates will conduct research on dwarf galaxies based on ongoing Euclid observations.

When applying for this position, applicants should in particular highlight relevant prior experience in the following areas: optical+NIR astronomical data analysis (spectroscopy would be an advantage), data analysis techniques (including machine learning), and scientific computing using Python and Jupyter notebooks (familiarity with ESA Datalabs would be a plus).

General information regarding the advertised PhD positions and application procedures

Future general tasks for PhD positions

You actively participate in research and related activities, which means:

• You are involved in research projects and scientific studies in the area of Extragalactic Astrophysics / Galaxy Formation and Evolution in an international environment, in particular following the research goals of the corresponding project.
• You participate and contribute actively to the research groups activities (such as group meetings, institute seminars etc.) and activities of the research network (jointly with the University of Vienna and the ISTA).
• You will continuously stay informed about the state of the art in your field.
• You will contribute to the dissemination of scientific results through publications, conference presentations and outreach activities.

Required Qualifications for PhD Positions

• Completed Diploma or Master’s degree in Physics, Astrophysics, or related fields by the start of your contract
• Excellent command of written and spoken English (C1 level)
• Excellent programming skills and their scientific application, particularly in Python
• Experience in academic writing
• Excellent abilities to work in a team and excellent communication skills
• You are goal-oriented and have a high motivation to strive for scientific excellence
• Additional knowledge in areas related to the individual position (see descriptions above) will be an advantage

General information & Application procedure

The PhD positions have contracts of 30 hours per week and are funded for up to the full duration of the fixed SFB funding period (March 1st, 2026 to February 28th, 2030). Thus, a starting date on or soon after March 1st, 2026 is ideal.

Salary schemes follow the Austrian Collective Bargaining Agreement for University Staff (Kollektivvertrag für die Arbeitnehmerinnen & Arbeitnehmer der Universitäten), where PhD positions start in scheme B1/1 (see Dissertation positions in https://www.uibk.ac.at/en/personnel-department/wissenschaftliches_personal/job-profiles-scientific-staff/)

Interested candidates should send their applications as a single pdf document not exceeding 8MB by January 18, 2026 to sfb-dune@uibk.ac.at (attention: Julia Mönnich, Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics, University of Innsbruck). The email subject should follow the notation: “Application SFB PhD: Lastname, Firstname”.

The combined pdf document should include a cover letter, CV, and list of publications. In the beginning of the cover letter, applicants should clearly indicate in which of the positions (one or more) they are interested in, as well as their preferred starting date. In the cover letter, applicants should also highlight any relevant prior expertise / experience relevant for the considered position(s), including relevant completed university courses. In addition, applicants should provide a link to a scientific document of which they are the main author (e.g. Master thesis if already completed, a published article, or otherwise e.g. Bachelor thesis). The applicant should additionally arrange for at least one letter of recommendation, typically from their Master thesis supervisor to be sent directly to the same email address by the same deadline.

Specific questions regarding the individual sub-projects should be sent directly to the individual sub-project leads. General administrative questions should be sent to sfb-dune@uibk.ac.at.

The University of Innsbruck emphasizes equal opportunities and diversity in its personnel policy. The University of Innsbruck strives to increase the percentage of women and thus expressly encourages qualified women to apply. This is particularly true for leading positions and scientific job offers. In case of under-representation, women with the same qualifications will be given priority. Following Austrian disability legislation, qualified persons are strongly encouraged to apply.